I am working on a 1990 Corvette that I need help with.
I have been working on several minor issues with the car and recently reconnected the battery to get a day or two of debugging prior to putting it away for the winter. When I re-connected the battery I could not get the car to remain running above an idle. It does not stop roughly, it is like someone turned the key off. I checked and replaced the typical cuases, bad fuel, fuel filter, fuel pump, and the problem is still there. The air bag light is on in the dash and from what I can see in the schematics it looks like it may have something to do with it. All of the fuses seem to be OK. Does anyone know how I can reset it?
Thank you for any help that you can provide.

 

Was everything OK before you disconnected the battery?

Most auto parts stores will scan for codes and clear for free.

 

Yes, the car ran fine prior to disconnecting the battery.
As a matter of fact I drove it to the garage without any issue.
I did do some further investigation and found that I am getting a code "42" againest the supplemental restraint system which is saying that the bulb is not operating properly. That is a strange one because it is the same bulb that flashes to give you the code. I replaced it anyway and am still getting the same error.
It was so much easier when you did not have to concern yourself with all of this electronics!

 

I agree. That's why I still have my '73 Coupe. I can do just about everything on it except rear wheel bearings and differential. Those I'll leave to the pros.

 

sounds like a crank position sensor, but im not sure if they had them, something to look at, the crank position sensor tells the computer the engine is running, if it fails the engine shuts off after the initial prime goes away

 

How much has it run since reconnecting?

If you've just reconnected and tried a few times, the PCM may simply need to relearn it's idle and adjust the IAC up.

Start the car and keep it running with the throttle. Hold the RPM around 1000 for a minute, then SLOWLY bring the RPM down, and try to hold it around 600. As you slowly roll off the throttle, the IAC motor should open up to compensate and be able to hold the idle. Then just let it idle for 5-10 minutes to complete it's relearn.

 

It ended up being a bad fuel injector. It had a dead short and was cause the alternator to load up and stall the car out. I replaced all 8 injectors and it has been running great since. I do not think that disconnecting the battery caused the problem but that the new fuel that is out may have gummed up the injector causing it to fail.

 

Might try running a couple of bottles of Techron thru it.

Thanks for reporting back on the fix. Might help someone in the future.